Trip to the Bay Area

If you want to see some nice cars, hang out at santana row (http://www.santanarow.com/), and Downtown Los Gatos. There are both about an hour south of SF though, so maybe somebody else can help you out with places closer to san francisco. If you are going to be here on a saturday, there is a meet at santana row starting at about 9:30. check the threads in this forum for more information on the meet.

 

Absolutely! The Concorso Italiano, Monterey Historic Races and Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance. All down in Monterey.

http://www.concorso.com/
http://www.montereyhistoric.com/
http://www.pebblebeachconcours.net/

 

They are all three different events and all excellent. Depends on what you are into.
Concorso has the best cars to time and dollar value. You will never see so many Ferraris in place in your life.
Vintage races have tons of very cool cars all actually being run. The sounds and smells are real, nothing like watching racing on TV, just awesome to hear blower Bentleys and vintage F1 cars wailing away.
Pebbele Beach is one of those Holy Grail events known the world over for spectacular cars in a spectacular setting. Please don't touch anything, including the grass.

 

Another smaller show. Same day as concourso. Better food!

As for Union Sq., we stayed at the St Francis last weekend. Lots of history and awesome views if you opt for the newer tower. They offer packages with breakfast and upper floor rooms. We had a view of the Golden Gate bridge, Coit tower, Knob Hill etc. Awesome views and ok rooms and right on the square.

 

If you are going up north of SF, stay a night at Safari West. It's best if you have kids but even if you don't have kids, its a fun place to stay and it is right in the area.

 

Lunch @ Equinox restaurant on a sunny day
top floor of Hyatt Regency San Francisco

http://delivery.vrxstudios.com/50076/VirtualTours.htm?id=12565

 

Unless you're nuts for vintage racing or hyper-restored Duesenbergs, go to the Concorso Italiano. It's a one-day event with an outrageous turnout of Italian cars, plus informal corrals of other sports cars (Porsches, Vipers, Corvettes, etc.) out in the parking lot.

Actually, the parking lots of all three events tend to be pretty interesting. But if you're on a tight schedule, and you don't want to bore the fiance too badly, go to the Concorso Italiano.

 

Far more exclusive and significant Ferraris are at the Quail and it is civilized and comfortable with nice, proper bathrooms for the ladies. Concorso Italiano has changed into the Wal-Mart of car shows; nearly every common European marque is there, it is overcrowded and plastic sani-can booths for bathrooms.

Congratulations,

Forget Napa, it is quite touristy and although they do have some good white wines there, it is nowhere as scenic as Sonoma. Napa will hit you for $5-$10 tasting at nearly every place you stop and not all are worth it. Sonoma County rarely charges with Rabbit Ridge, and Ferrari-Carano being the only ones I can think of that charge. The Best Reds also come from Sonoma, in the Dry Creek area.
Map:
http://www.wineroad.com/maps/dry_creek_valley.asp
Stay in the center of it all at Healdsburg or if you want to save a few dollars, then stay in Santa Rosa, either way you'll be very close to everything.
Map:
http://www.wineroad.com/maps/

No matter what you taste at the wineries, you can ALWAYS buy it cheaper at the Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa and they'll have bottle shaped, pre-formed polystyrene box liners for safely checking it on the airplane for the trip home.
http://www.bottlebarn.com/


PS - I used to take girls to Ferrari-Carano winery and bring a picnic because the grounds are so magnificently manicured with a nice Japanese garden and Koi stream. Harrah's Casino in Reno is the true owner, wish the wines were as good as the facilities there. Even if you don't go to taste the wines, pull in to walk the gardens and overlook the Dry Creek valley.

 

It may be difficult to get a reservation during that week, but there is a hotel about thirty minute's drive South of Carmel called the Post Ranch Inn that has a fantastic restaurant called Sierra Mar. The hotel itself is a great place to stay - very romantic for a couple - but it is rather pricey. The restaurant isn't exctly cheap, maybe around $100/person before you get into the wine, but the food is on par with any high-end restaurant anywhere, and combined with the location and the architecture, it is a place I can pretty much guarantee your fiance will not forget. If you can get a reservation there, I would highly recommend it: http://www.postranchinn.com Can't hurt to try, anyway.

edit 1:
It's ~30 minutes South of Carmel if you've been before. If not, allow some extra time to stop for the view maybe.

edit 2:
The $100 per person is a ballpark figure from 3-5 years ago. Might still be close, might be a little low. Still worth it! Especially for a romantic getaway while on vacation. 5 stars, Joe Bob says check it out.

 

If you go north to Napa/Sonoma area, one of my favorite places to stay is Auberge Du Soleil in Rutherford http://www.aubergedusoleil.com/ . It can be on the pricier side, but well worth it. The rooms are like little cottages and very romantic. They have a great spa and restaurant with view as well. I've gone up there for massages or lunch in the middle of the week before just to break the monotony of every day life. Also, Infineon Raceway is on the way there from SF. If you guys are young and need suggestions on SF night life, feel free to contact me. I own one of the most upscale places and am pretty well connect with other owners/promoters/djs.

 

Completely agree with Post Ranch Inn and the restaurant. Another favorite place to stay and stop over for a meal. Beautiful views of the mountains and ocean there. And they have caviar on the menu, although they took Beluga off a few years ago. Ventana Inn across the street isn't bad either although you only get mountain views there and wild turkeys running around, haha.

 

Forget about getting into The Post Ranch or Ventana anytime before-during or after the Pebble Beach concourse week, these two places are booked almost a year ahead!

 

Yes, I meant if you can get a reservation at the Sierra Mar restaurant, not for a room.

 

The Clift Hotel in Union Square is trendy and reasonably priced. It houses the restaurant Asia de Cuba as well as the Redwood Room bar/lounge. Gets packed on the weekends and you'll see nice cars parked outside.

 

Since you'll be in the City, there are a few cool restaurants to check out.

http://www.stepsofrome.com/ This place is open very late so if you go clubbing and it's 2 am you can go here to eat.
Nothing fancy but the crowd gets a little crazy.

Across the street from Steps of Rome
http://www.thestinkingrose.com/

Buca Di Peppo
http://www.bucadibeppo.com/ Is always a favorite and nearby Union Square.

Planet Hollywood is right by Union Square.

Other places to visit.

Metreon
http://westfield.com/metreon/
Is always a great place to go walk around, shopping or go catch a movie. You can walk around there late at night too.

Twin Peaks
http://www.sftravel.com/twinpeakssanfrancisco.html great view

Coit Tower is nice. This site has some top spots to visit in SF.
http://www.sanfranciscoonline.com/citysights.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Fine_Arts Great to walk around

Stop by Marina Green on a Saturday morning and go for a walk or jogging. You'll see some of the most beautiful people you've ever seen there.

http://sfgate.com/traveler/graphics/maps/sf-city_full.gif
Here is a map of SF.

Take Lincoln Blvd to Baker beach and relax a little.

There is so much to do in SF. Depends on the culture you like too. If you like Japanese stuff then go visit Japan Town, Italian, North Beach, Chinese, Chinatown.

As for car stuff, it's not usually in SF. There is like one exotic dealer and they are on Van Ness by Hard Rock Cafe. That is if they are even still around.

 

Hard Rock isn't around, dealer is.